Louisiana news briefs

2nd teacher accused of having sex with student
DESTREHAN (AP) — A second Destrehan High School teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with a 16-year-old student.
Attorney Jeffrey Smith said his client, 24-year-old Rachel Respess, of Kenner, surrendered Wednesday morning.
Respess and another teacher, 34-year-old Shelley Dufresne, of Montz, are accused of having a sexual encounter with the student. Respess was booked with one count each of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Bond information was not immediately available.
Dufresne posted $200,000 bond after her Tuesday arrest on one count of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
Authorities were tipped Friday when school system officials told the Sheriff’s Office a male student was “bragging to other students that he was having a sexual relationship with teachers.”

Lafourche board approves land for new school
THIBODAUX (AP) — The Lafourche Parish School Board has moved a step closer to purchasing property for a new Chackbay Elementary School.
Board members voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve buying nearly 19 acres of land on Louisiana Highway 20, just south of the La. 304 intersection.
Officials say the existing school is falling apart.
School district facilities manager Evan Plaisance says the cafeteria is rotting from the inside out.
Thibodaux real estate agent Ben Harang says the board has 150 days to evaluate the property and search for better options.
Appraised at $505,000, Harang says the agreement calls for buying the land for $500,000, saving the remaining $5,000 for subdivision fees.

4 inmates hospitalized
after drug overdose
CLINTON (AP) — East Feliciana Parish authorities say four inmates have been hospitalized after overdosing on synthetic marijuana that is believed to have been brought into the jail by a work release inmate.
The sheriff’s office says 25-year-old Shep Garner is suspected of getting a cigarette that contained synthetic marijuana into the jail. He faces a charge of introduction of contraband and distribution of Schedule I.
The four inmates hospitalized Tuesday were: 36-year-old Peter Taylor, 28-year-old Brandon Schilling, 37-year-old Alton Williams and 42-year-old Darrell Anderson.
Deputies say they saw an unconscious inmate in a single jail cell just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. By the time emergency personnel arrived, three other inmates showed signs of drug overdose. Two remain hospitalized — one in intensive care.

2 accused of killing
deputy face death penalty
ABBEVILLE (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for two Abbeville men accused in the June killing of an off-duty Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s deputy, who was shot when he tried to arrest the pair after a home burglary.
Quintylan Kerry Richard and Baylon Lashawn Taylor, both 20, are being tried in separate courts with different judges and defense attorneys. Assistant District Attorney Ted Ayo will prosecute both cases.
Both Richard and Taylor have pleaded not guilty to an array of charges, including first-degree murder of a police officer. Richard was arraigned Wednesday before Judge Marilyn Castle, and Taylor’s arraignment was Monday in Judge Thomas Duplantier’s court.
Deputy Allen Bares Jr. was a 12-year veteran law enforcement officer when he was gunned down on June 23.

Lafayette board finds
money for extra teacher pay
LAFAYETTE (AP) — An additional $1,000 will be added to the salary schedules of Lafayette Parish public school teachers.
The Lafayette Parish School Board unanimously voted Wednesday to use some of the money from a 2002 sales tax in teachers’ regular pay. Teachers will still receive a supplemental check each year, which would be about $1,200 per teacher.
The decision came a day after a committee voted to recommend putting some of the money into teacher salaries, rather than lumping it all into an annual distribution. The additional $1,000 will be divided among teachers’ regular paychecks.
Besides teachers, the move affects counselors, librarians and others.

Merger of 2 Louisiana Entergy utilities requested
BATON ROUGE — Entergy Louisiana LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana LLC have asked the Louisiana Public Service Commission for permission to merge into a single utility.
Entergy Louisiana services New Orleans suburbs north to Monroe. Entergy Gulf States Louisiana services customers from Baton Rouge west to the Texas state line.
Entergy Louisiana President and Chief Executive Officer Phillip May said Wednesday the move will allow the companies to make the necessary investments in the state’s utility infrastructure.
By 2019, the two companies expect an increase of up to 1,600 megawatts in industrial demand. Both utilities expect to invest more than $5 billion in the state’s electric infrastructure by 2019.
Entergy officials say combining the companies would spread those costs among all customers, minimizing increases in their bills.

PSC approves refunds
for some Entergy customers
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Louisiana Public Service Commission has approved a one-time refund for customers of Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana.
The commission Wednesday authorized the refunds which will show on customers’ bills starting at the end of October. The LPSC estimates the credit to the average residential customer will be about $16.75 for an Entergy Gulf States Louisiana customer and $7.50 for an Entergy Louisiana customer.
The refund comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the commission against Entergy over how the company spreads the cost of electric generation over its subsidiaries in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas.
The LPSC asked FERC to correct flawed refund calculations made by Entergy for 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana has about 900,000 customers combined.

Gonzales police officer accused of DWI
GONZALES (AP) — Authorities say a Gonzales police officer, honored last year as one of three law enforcement officers of the year, is under investigation after the state police accused him of DWI when he was involved in an accident while off duty.
Police Chief Sherman Jackson said Cpl. Randy Clouatre Jr., who’s been with the police department since 2006, was involved in a crash at Airline Highway and Louisiana 30 in Ascension Parish.
Trooper Jared Sandifer said Clouatre was booked on counts of first-offense DWI and careless operation of a vehicle.
Sandifer says the accident happened just after 4 p.m. Monday when Clouatre’s vehicle struck another vehicle. He says the other driver had minor injuries.
Jackson says Clouatre is continuing to work while the two investigations are underway.